“Profetino,” left, attributed to Donatello, and “Profetino,” attributed to Nanni di Banco are part of the “Sculpture in the Age of Donatello: Renaissance Masterpieces From Florence Cathedral” exhibition at the Museum of Biblical Art in Manhattan.”
Hard to believe but true: An exhibition that includes three major works from Florence, Italy, by the early Renaissance sculptor Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, a.k.a. Donatello (1386-1466), has come to New York, and it’s not at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Frick Collection. It’s at the Museum of Biblical Art, a 10-year-old institution not noted for producing once-in-a-lifetime shows, and it’s a beautiful, soul-stirring exhibition. It’s also a terrific valedictory show, as the museum will be leaving its current location at the end of June because of the building’s recent sale by the American Bible Society. Where it may reopen is yet to be determined.
Although he’s the star, Donatello is not the only subject of “Sculpture in the Age of Donatello: Renaissance Masterpieces From Florence Cathedral,” which opens on Friday. Along with his three masterpieces, including one that’s widely regarded as his greatest work, and another half-dozen or so works attributed to him wholly or in part, are pieces by or attributed to Nanni di Banco (circa 1386-1421), Donatello’s main competitor. With the addition of a series of octagonal marble reliefs (1437-39) by Luca della Robbia and wooden models of the cathedral’s enormous dome and its lantern attributed to the dome’s designer, Filippo Brunelleschi, the exhibition amounts to a tightly cropped snapshot of the birth of the Renaissance, a Janus-headed time that looked back to the art of ancient Rome, away from medieval dogmatism and forward to the modern world’s faith in the primacy of human thought and creativity.
–
“Sculpture in the Age of Donatello: Renaissance Masterpieces From Florence Cathedral” runs through June 14 at the Museum of Biblical Art, 1865 Broadway, at 61st Street; 212-408-1500, mobia.org.
A version of this review appears in print on February 20, 2015, on page C19 of the New York edition with the headline: Capturing Florence At Its Renaissance . Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
